FaZe clinch final EPL playoff spot by edging out Aurora

FaZe Clinch Final EPL Playoff Spot by Edging Out Aurora

With a dramatic final push on Dust2, FaZe secured a 2-1 victory over Aurora to claim the eighth and last berth in the ESL Pro League Season 22 playoffs. After a dismal 0-2 start, the team bounced back to finish 3-2 in the group stage.

Aurora, by contrast, will end their run in Sweden just short of the cut. Their campaign was marked by near-misses: they dropped an overtime Overpass decider to FURIA and led 10-8 in the Dust2 decider before ultimately being pulled back. Their only victories in the group came against Gentle Mates and a struggling Astralis, leaving them in the 9th–11th range.

From 0-2 to 3-2: FaZe’s Resilience

FaZe’s journey to the playoffs was far from smooth. They had to forfeit their opening match against G2 after facing roster eligibility issues due to incoming roster changes. They followed that with a loss to 3DMAX, putting themselves in a precarious 0-2 position. From there, they went on a three-match winning streak — over Astralis, Inner Circle, and Aurora — to lock in their playoff spot.

In the decisive Dust2 map, Aurora fought back from an early deficit, stringing together an 8-1 run. But it was rain who delivered FaZe’s comeback: he pulled off back-to-back clutch rounds, including a solo double kill with the Five-SeveN near Long and a smoke push through A, to shift momentum in FaZe’s favor. The final two rounds saw Aurora on low buy economy, and FaZe capitalized to close it out.

Statistically, the match was tightly contested. The overall team rating for the match was 1.09 for Aurora and 1.00 for FaZe.

Mirage: Aurora 8 – FaZe 13

Train: Aurora 13 – FaZe 2

Dust2: Aurora 10 – FaZe 13

Among individual performances, XANTARES from Aurora posted a standout rating of 1.36, with 51 kills, 42 deaths, and 101.5 ADR. rain led FaZe in assists with 20.

Additional Context & Player Quotes

Twistzz Returns, Addresses Role

Russel “Twistzz” Van Dulken, making his return to FaZe, revealed that his signing was always intended to replace rain.

“People may have thought otherwise (laughs), but yeah. In the early talks, it was like that.”

Twistzz also described his reunion with broky and karrigan as natural:

“It was a very natural reunion. They’ve just grown as players … I think [karrigan] has grown as a leader. … And Helvijs [broky] has definitely matured as well.”

Regarding the roster rules that forced FaZe to forfeit their opening match, Twistzz explained:

“It feels amazing … the situation ended up being perceived as messy, but it's only because there are VRS rules and stuff that can be very restricting for teams to make a big signing in the middle of the season.”

karrigan’s Leadership & Pressure

Team captain Finn “karrigan” Andersen previously spoke about his leadership and his willingness to step down if the team ever loses confidence in him:

“One thing I will say is that I’ve told FaZe Clan that the moment someone in the team doesn’t believe in me, I will happily step down … I am not here to tank FaZe Clan.”

He also admitted that entering this stage of the competition was tough, particularly because of roster changes and the need to reassert themselves:

“It’s tough. Playing best-of-ones with teams that have been fighting to get to the Major is going to be rough. But … that’s maybe what we need. … We need to get down in the mud … tell ourselves that we can beat these teams that are not tier one but very close.”

What’s Next & Narrative Implications

With this win, FaZe move into the playoff bracket of ESL Pro League Season 22. Their path to qualification, after starting 0-2, highlights their mental fortitude and adaptability under roster constraints and mounting pressure.

The roles of Twistzz and broky in this newer iteration of FaZe will be under scrutiny, especially given broky’s evolving leadership and the team’s shifting dynamics. Aurora, meanwhile, will reflect on narrow margins — they came close to qualification but lacked the consistency and clutch moments needed to seal it.